Movie review!

Ok, this weekend was FULL of fun. On friday I saw a movie, and I also saw a movie tonight. Jake is so nice for letting me go out with the gals! Friday I saw Made of Honor, this movie was cute, and of course it has Patrick Dempsey in it...hello... Cant buy me love lawn mowing geek, has become a hottie! Ok, cute movie, totally unnecessary humor, tacky one liners, but all in all.. a cute movie. And hello "McDreamy" is in it.. 'nuff said! Ok, tonight we went and saw Baby Mama. I was hesitant at first, but I loved this movie. I loved the cast. Steve Martin is HILARIOUS in it. And Tina Fey is cute as always. very cute, funny movie......got somewhat boring towards the end, but all in all.. well worth it. Go see both the movies... they are good ones! Maybe just rent Made of honor... but go see Baby mama!

Yummy Chicken Pad thai

this is one of my favorite meals. And Jake likes it too, so its a winner in our house!

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 2-3
8-10 oz. thin Thai-style rice noodles - look for linguini-size rice noodles (made in Thailand) at Asian/Chinese stores
1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
Marinade for Chicken: 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 spring (green) onions, sliced
approx. 1 cup fresh coriander
1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
PAD THAI SAUCE:
3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1-3 tsp. chili sauce (depending how spicy you want it)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
OTHER:
lime wedges for serving
oil for stir-frying
PREPARATION:
Bring to near a boil, then remove from heat. Allow to sit while you prepare the other ingredients (about 10 minutes).
Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve both the tamarind paste and the brown sugar. Set sauce aside.
Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so tangy-terrific!
Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Pour the marinade (2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce) over the chicken. Stir well and set aside.
Check the noodles. Note that you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them at this point. Noodles are ready when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and chewy. Drain and rinse through with cold water. Set aside.
Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the wok/pan is hot, add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).
Add the chicken (together with the marinade). Stir-fry until the wok or pan becomes dry (30 seconds to 1 minute).
Now begin adding some of the chicken stock. Add only a few Tbsp. at a time, enough to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue until all the chicken stock has been added and chicken pieces/strips are cooked (about 5-8 minutes).
Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over the noodles. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, quickly stir-fry the noodles. Use a "lift and turn" method (almost as though you were tossing a salad) instead of the usual stir-frying motion, or the noodles with break apart.
Fry the noodles in this way for 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom (but no more broth, or the noodles will become soggy).
Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the ground black pepper. Continue "tossing" for 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or transulcent. They should be opaque and chewy-sticky wonderful!
Taste-test the noodles for seasoning, adding more fish sauce as needed (I usually end up adding up to 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce, as I like mine on the salty side). Toss well to incorporate.
To serve, lift the noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion (green onion), and crushed or chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and serve with a bottle of Thai chili sauce on the side, for those who like it extra spicy. ENJOY!

Cafe Rio anyone? YUM-O!

Ok, so I know this recipe has been the love of most peoples lives, well Utah people anyways. I know my sister Stephanie will start to foam at the mouth when she gets this recipe. She is from Oregon, and whenever she visits the first thing she says is "can we go to that salad place?"

So here is THE recipe for Cafe Rio sweet pork salad, rice and RANCH DRESSING!

SWEET PORK
2 pounds pork3 cans Coke (NOT diet)1/4 c. brown sugar, dash garlic salt, 1/4 c. water, 1 can sliced green chilies, 3/4 can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)1 c. brown sugar
Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!
CILANTRO-LIME RICE
1 c. uncooked rice, 1 tsp. butter or margarine, 2 cloves garlic, minced1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice1 can (15 oz) chicken broth1 cup water, 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 tsp. sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
BLACK BEANS
2 Tbsp. olive oil2 cloves garlic, minced1 tsp. ground cumin1 can black beans, rinsed and drained1 1/3 c. tomato juice1 1/2 tsp. salt2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")
CILANTRO RANCH
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)1 c. mayonnaise1 c. buttermilk2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro1 clove garlicjuice of 1 lime1 jalepeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
Mix all ingredients together in the blender. Thats it!

Eczema treatment

Ok, this is THE treatment that seriously answered so may prayers. Its amazing what a LOT of WATER can do. Ok here it is. This is ezactly what the doctors in denver taught us. So simple, yet SO expensive..... I thought I would pay it forward. We had to pay a fortune to have Jackson treated, so I feel I need to share this info so other moms like can have a little peace in their lives. Let me know how it works for you!!

Ok its a 7 day process for severe eczema.

Day ONE- 3, 30 minute baths. FILL the tub, literally FILL the tub as high as it can go, the more water, the better. Then drape a wet towell over the shoulders. Continue to pour water over the body, and wipe a wet rag along the face. The important factor here is to KEEP WET. If this a child being treated. Make sure to have fun BATH ONLY toys. Buckets, balls, cool water toys. This will keep them entertained for 30 mins. Set a timer so you make sure you are in the tub for 30 minutes! Repeat this 2 more times.

Wrapping- while the child/adult is still in the tub, lay down a towel on a bed or the floor and get your medications ready! ALWAYS use a spoon or tongue depresser to get meds out of tubs. You dont want to contaminate the CLEAN tub. If you are using a pump despenser for the lotions, you dont need a spoon. Get child out of the tub, and start to SLATHER AQUAPHOR ointment all over areas NOT severely infected with eczema. Then use TRIAMCINOLONE OINTMENT on areas of deep concern. MAke sure not to mix. This will dilute the medication, and it wont work as well as it should. Get some CLEAN long tube socks and get wet in warm water. Ring out so they arent dripping. Put socks on medicated skin on feet and hands. Then if the exzema is on body as well. Get a 100% cotton shirt and get wet as well. Ring out. Put wet shirt on. You can use mens socks that will cover the whole leg, or use small socks, and then use 100% cotton jammy pants, wet. Then put a dry warm sweat suit or sleeper suit over wet wraps. Keep on for at least 2 hours. Or over night. Repeat 2 more times.

Face wraps- This is the hard one. same thing... but the face, you do NOT want to put the triamcinolone. We use Desonide Rx ointment. But you can use Aquaphor as well. Get CLEAN gauze, a LONG thing roll. Get wet in warm water, and wrap all over the head, and face, neck and ears. Then either use a snow beanie, or get some stretchy gauze that you can put over the head, tie a knot in the top, and then poke holes for the eyes and mouth and nose. The child will hate this, but they get used to it. The face wraps are only if your child has eczema on their face.

After 3 days of only aquaphor.... start using either CeraVe or Vanicream. Both are available at Walgreens or Costco. You may need to special order the Vanicream. It works WONDERS! We use Vanicream at night because its thicker and richer, and we use CeraVe during the day because its silkier and not so pasty. You will notice a difference after one day, seriously. After 3 days, the eczema will be GONE, and their skin will be so soft. After a week.... oh my gosh... amazing.

Maintenence.... daily 2o min baths, and a bed time body wrap. A face wrap once a week or as needed.

The key is this.. MOISTURE! When the skin itches, its thirsty. Always keep aquaphor or ceraVe in your purse or diaper bag. You never know when a itch attack will happen! GOOD LUCK!!

I would buy a large jumbo back of tube socks, and about 3 pairs of NEW 100% cotton jammies you can get wet. You wil be doing LOTS of laundry! Also, get some small bath towells, white is best, they have no dye that can be irritating.

Never use scented laundry soap, fabric softener, or even dryer sheets. Unless they are dye free and perfume free. No scented yummy lotions.

Oh I love these people....

Bet you thought I was going to post a picture of my family! Well these doctors at National Jewish Medical center in denver colorado are amazing. They treated Jackson so well and helped us understand eczema more. Now as spring enters we are batteling allergies galore, but at least now we have learned exactly how to treat the eczema, and rashes. If you know anyone who is going through the agony of Eczema, please contact me. I can give you the treatment directions that we got for Jackson! Maybe I should post it on the blog!

Remembering these days......

Lily loves putting make up on. Even though it was a mess, she sure looks pretty!!

Lily and Jackson, halloween 2005. By far my favorite Halloween ensemble of the kids!

Lily and her old little buddy Hailey from our old "hood" in West Valley city.
Lily and her Poppy Brown, my dad at my brother Matt's wedding back in 2004

I love going through my pictures and just remonissing on days that have passed. I tend to forget what my kids looked like when they were just little ones, and I love just looking at their old pictures and laughing at how silly they were! I gues its easy to forget things when you have 3. I think we have THOUSANDS of pictures of Lily on the computer, about 1000 of Jackson, and a couple hundred of Porter. I need to be better at capturing the moments!

Look out FUN here we come!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON! LETS GET READY FOR SOME FUN!!!

OK, so Jacksons 3rd birthday party is tomorrow, and it is going to be FUN! F-U-N! I will post pictures of the event this weekend! WAHOOO... we will have a ballon animal artist, face painter and a bounce house... Jackson nearly passed out when I showed him what his birthday cake will look like (thanks Mellissae!)

The things kids say....

The other day when Lily was at school, I guess a classmate of hers was freaking out about a BEE! He tried to stomp on it. Lily then went NUTS and said "NOOOO WE DONT KILL BEES! WE NEED THEM, THEY MAKE FLOWERS GROW! DOES HIS LIFE HAVE NO MEANING TO YOU?" Well, maybe she has watched The Bee movie too many times? Or maybe she is learning to respect other living things? I think she has watched the movie too many times, because she didnt show the same love towards a spider last night as she killed it. *note* the wicked little boy did end up killing the poor Bee..... Lily's teacher told me Lily was rather upset by the massacre*

Quotes about motherhood......

Well being a mom has been amazing, so far! I know it will just get better. I always wanted to be a mommy. Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said "I want to be a Veterinarian who doesnt put animals to sleep, and I want to be a Mommy." Well once I found out that Vets HAVE to put animals to sleep, I dropped that off my career list pretty fast. Anyways, here are some quotes for all the Mommy's out there.

We seriously have the best job ever!

These quotes are from amazing men, I love hearing men talk about women...

they get all sensitive and soft!

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." -- George Washington (1732-1799)

"Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." --Elizabeth Stone
"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -- Lin Yutang

And my favorite of them all....

Small Blessings
Dear Lord, it's such a hectic dayWith little time to stop and pray

For life's been anything but calmSince

You called on me to be a momRunning errands, matching socks

Building dreams with building blocks

Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes

And other stuff that children lose

Getting lids on bottled bugs

Wiping tears and giving hugs

A stack of last week's mail to read

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet when I steal a minute, Lord

Just at the sink or ironing board

To ask the blessings of Your grace

I seen then, in my small one's face

That you have blessed me

All the while And I stop to kiss

That precious smile

Oh I love this boy

Jackson just being Jackson....

Orange strip shirt-Jackson age 1 month

Hat-Jackons 1 day old

Green shirt-Jackson age 2

My little Jackson is turning THREE in a couple of weeks, and boy has the time flown on by! Its amazing to watch your child grow up and watch him learn and become such a terror, haha.